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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Green String Toddler Quilt

For once, an easy finish. The stash of presewn blocks made this a quick job. I laid the blocks out and sewed them up in one afternoon. Small tops take very little quilting time. I channel quilted on the diagonal using the walking foot and casually spacing about the width of that foot. With this design, it's important to keep the quilt square with your hands or it can warp into a diamond.

Green String toddler quilt

Continuing my vow not to save fabric for a {possible but unspecified} future use, these two made a delightful back. The yellow moons with lilies have always made me smile.

Back of Green String toddler quilt

Originally I cut some light green binding but didn't like it. When I added it to the little box of leftover binding I found lots of green remnants. They work much better for me. The purple dot is the last of an apron made two years ago for my dear sister who's passed away. It's a cherished memento.

Binding and quilting detail on green string toddler quilt

Off to my darling grandson this week.

Quilt Details

Size: 40" x 48"

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Gutterman green cotton

Quilting: Walking foot on a domestic machine

The next AHIQ linkup is the coming Tuesday. What utility or improvisational quilting do you have to share?

This Thanksgiving I hope we all consider how we can share our many blessings with others.

The blocks were made to use up my scrap bag and each is a single color. I liked the green best, too, when I decided to finish these off. I look forward to seeing your finish. It's the time of year for a new throw.

Oh, Lee Anna, I'm certain it would have some fun surprises if you'd made this. I was very pleased to work that last bit of paper piecing in. Of all the block sets, this color attracted me the most; probably because of that red.

I love the quilting! You have given me inspiration for a couple of similar quilts I have sitting on my pile of completed (or almost completed) tops that I have been waiting to quilt, but lacking the time and inspiration. I can see that those straight lines create such wonderful texture, and I'm envisioning playing with the thread colors and weight to create a secondary texture going through my diagonal blocks. Thanks for sharing your wonderful work, it's truely amazing!

I haven't heard from you in a while, Paul. Glad to know you're still quilting. Channel quilting looks good, doesn't require much effort or ability, and is quick. (Perfect for these quilts.) My batting shrinks after washing and that enhanced the texture, too. Your plan to vary thread color and weight will improve the design. Great idea. The only thing to watch for while quilting is to keep the quilt square. While quilting, I held the blocks so they were straight-of-grain and alternated the direction of the stitching (lower left to top right, then top right to lower left) to keep the quilt from stretching. It worked very well; only 1/4" distortion at the end.I want to see yours when you finish.

Isn't that the truth, Mary! I made these blocks in January to clear out my scrap bag. It's overflowing again. There are so many other quilts I want to make, too, but string quilts are very useable and fun.

I'm not sure why I kept it so long except that I liked the colors and fabric. It was difficult to make the first cut. Then it was a breeze. I've also seen other quilters overdye their orphan blocks to great effect (although it was after the tops were made.